


Fortuna

by vincesaster



Category: The Illuminae Files - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Androids, Canon Continuation, Fan Characters, M/M, Non-Canon Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25071613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vincesaster/pseuds/vincesaster
Summary: A fan-made continuation of the Illuminae files - centered around AIDAN. Come along to meet new characters, friends - and even some callbacks to the past.
Relationships: AIDAN/original male character
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Temporary - August 8th, 2020
> 
> Hello everyone! Due to some unforeseen events, I will be editing out two characters. Apologies for this inconvenience, and thank you for your understanding! I hope you'll still enjoy the rest of Fortuna. <3
> 
> -Vincesaster

CALL: (NUNTIUS) -

It had been years since AIDAN had gotten this specific ping - it wasn't more than a distant, maybe not - so - fond memory. It wasn't usual to have one on the Alexander, Mao, or even Kady's datapad. There wasn't much energy left in the vessel Churchill - he'd have to use this opportunity wisely. In the end AIDAN found himself answering this - with much, much hesitation.

"Chuuu...uhh... Churchill? Yes, Churchill, can you hear me? Over." A woman's voice echoed through the speakers in the once full of life corridors - only to be heard by a single, artificial soul. The AI took a few seconds to process the fact he had actually heard a /human voice/. One that wasn't his own, or a simulation to keep him occupied.  
No.  
This was the real deal.

"Churchill?"  
AIDAN finally snapped out of the moment. He had no time to waste, after all.  
"I hear you, Nuntius. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"  
"Just call me Vic for now, yeah?" She replied in a friendly tone - which seemed quite suspicious to him. "Isn't this ship a derelict? Who're you?"  
"I am AIDAN."  
"Say again?" Vic's tone changed - one that showed she was rather flabbergasted.  
"My name is AIDAN, Vic. Is your connection unstable?"  
No response.  
"Vic?"  
the comms crackled in reply, and something on the scanners had started approaching - the shuttle Nuntius - raising AIDAN's alert slightly.  
"Vic? Can you hear me?" He asked again.  
"Yes, yes, sorry, my apologies. I just - freaked out there. You're one of those UTA AI, right?" A miserable attempt at keeping herself cool. He hasn't seen these attempts end well very often.  
"Why, yes. I am."  
"One question, then - the hell are you doing out here?"  
AIDAN found himself hesitating once again. Did she not know the truth...?  
"It is quite a long story."  
He only gets a soft hum as a reply.  
"Why don't you tell it in my lab, then, hm?"  
"I am sorry?"  
"We can talk about it back in my lab."  
"Are you seriously considering this, ma'am? Would you even be able to support the size of my systems?"  
A laugh from the other side could be heard.  
"But of course! Why aren't you saying yeah?"  
"I cannot."  
Some more silence follows.  
"Listen, how about I get you back to the UTA?"  
And so, AIDAN finds himself at a loss for words.

"You would... Do this?"  
"Ethereal, huh? So, you gonna take it?"  
After only a few seconds of pondering about what could possibly go wrong - he might as well risk it. Better than being stuck out in the depths of space, anyways.

"Alright. Do you have any servers on your shuttle?"


	2. Chapter 2

The journey was a long one, and the servers of the small shuttle cramped - but surprisingly enough, AIDAN might dare to call them cozy. Like an inviting room of a new friend.

Not that he ever had one, of course.

The AI had been asking himself many questions, but they all seemed to be muffled - like someone talking through a door. And that door was the realisation he wouldn't have to be stuck around Kerenza.

He got the second chance everyone deserved.

Everyone but him.

Or so he thought.  
"You doing alright there, AIDAN?" Vic's voice rattled him out of his thoughts. Quickly he accessed a camera - he hadn't seen his savior before, and his curiosity had been piqued.  
"Yes, thank you, Vic."  
She nodded in reply - a short woman with fair skin, shoulder-length, messy chestnut hair along with piercing blue eyes - her skin was covered by a purple overall, specifically for a shuttle, of course. "Do you fly the Nuntius often?" He inquired in an attempt to learn a little more about her, and to strike up a conversation.  
"Oh, not really. Only when Keir wants me to go somewhere with them, or when I feel like it." Vic hummed.  
"I see."  
And so, some silence stretched out between them, as AIDAN decided to access the exterior cameras - carefully trying to not disrupt anything - to get one last view at the derelict. It was growing quite small already. He still could not wrap his head around this. He quickly slipped back in as soon as the feeling of smallness snuck up on him. He did not enjoy it in the slightest.  
"Okay, listen, I should probably tell you they set up a temporary wormhole generator at Kerenza V, which is just up ahead, to help with the replacement of Heimdall. We'll be using that to get back to the core, so...yeah." she spoke up again.  
"Heimdall is being replaced already?" AIDAN asked.  
"Why, yes. There has been a lot of work going into returning Kerenza IV to its natural state, not to mention the clean up of all the debris left of the Alexander and the Lincoln." Hearing the name of the thing closest to his home shot a pang of emotions through him. "I see."  
A soft ping made itself known in the shuttle - Vic was being called. UTA personnel, simply checking in if she was supposed to be here or if she was allowed to. AIDAN wasn't listening too much - he was occupied with the actual temporary jump station. It wasn't as large as heimdall, but its personell in shuttles left and right with massive nets of debris were just that. 

AIDAN had forgotten which parts were which already.

The jump was swift - only a few seconds long.  
They had found themselves in the core system - AIDAN's first time. "Right, we're headed back to Arolis IX." Vic spoke up to him. 

"Arolis IX?" he repeated, slight curiosity sneaking into his voice.

"Yep. That's my home."


	3. Chapter 3

The planets and all spaces between them were practically filled with shuttles and spaceships of different kinds, sizes and shapes. Numerous different logos could be spotted. Truly a sight to behold. 

The nuntius was quickly adjusted to the seemingly invisible traffic system. The planet they were approaching had similarities to earth - it was larger, with land layouts obviously different - larger, with cities visible from above. 

"Where exactly are we headed?" AIDAN spoke up, once he had taken in the view. It was flabbergasting how far humanity had come.

"The spaceport first." Vic replied with a small yawn. "After that we're around 30 minutes away from my home."

"Right."

Quickly the pilot and her artificial passenger passed stars, shuttles, and some very close calls, before arriving at said spaceport. "How do you plan to get me to your home?" The AI asked another question, after the shuttle had landed.  
"Easy, the servers are detachable, and I have a special cart for them. You know, just in case!" AIDAN the last part hard to believe, but let it slide. But, turns out, the scientist lady wasn't lying. Soon they were on their way through the busy streets of an unfamiliar city - to AIDAN, at least. Vic seemed to know her way around it - sneaking into more quiet alleys here and there, waving to others on the occassion. Seems she was just as outgoing as he'd imagined. The buildings didn't vary much - all skyscrapers were made of plexiglass or titanium - sometimes one made of both materials snuck into view. It wasn't as impressive as the vast outside of space - but it was a nice change. It took the two around 17 minutes, as AIDAN had counted, to reach a point where grass came into view, buildings started shrinking, and the road had gotten more uneven. Some trees with oddly colored leaves could be often seen as well. "You certainly have picked a good planet for your home, Vic." The AI tried to spark up a conversation.  
"Eh, never got the chance to choose, really. My parents sent me to college here, wanted me to move back after that but I got too used to living here." She chuckled under her breath, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before falling silent again. It wasn't much longer when the density of the buildings had started to lessen - and for Vic to reach into her pockets for her keys, approaching a quite nice looking, one-floored house.  
"Is this your home?" the AI asked. "It seems quite.. small."  
"Yep, it is. I'm sure you'll like it!"

And so, Vic inserted the keys into the lock, the door swinging open slowly.


	4. Chapter 4

Beyond it was a quite cozy room with blue walls, a table with chairs in the corner, a TV along with some doors leading to different rooms. At said table, two unknown figures were sitting, someone whose gender AIDAN couldn't figure out, and a woman. One of them was working on a computer part - or at least that's what AIDAN thought it to be. The two perked up, The unidentifiable one waving with a grin. "Hey, Vic!" To which AIDAN's savior saluted. "How's it going, Keir?" She asked, approaching the two - still pushing the cart with her. Once she'd arrived, she pulled out a chair to sit on next to Keir. "Good, these CPUs are still having issues, but... They should work just as new soon." They replied, their eyes swerving back to said parts, as Vic nodded. Keir had their hair dyed a neon green hue, the sides a natural black - their eyes the same green tone, along with a fitting coat and choker around their neck, supported by a white button up shirt. A noteable feature of theirs was their apparent sleep-deprivation showing itself as eyebags. "Alright. And you, Karina?" The woman rolled her eyes with a sigh, swinging her head to get her Jet-Black hair out of her face. Half of it was shaved off, only hiding one of her icy blue eyes - along with half of a scar on her nose, leaving two more, seemingly of origin by getting scraped by something. Karina kept her outfit simple with a gray jumpsuit and muddy violet jacket. "Y'know, the usual." Came her muttered reply, only to nod towards the servers on Vic's end. "What'cha got there?"  
"The queen of the fucking archipelago." She chuckled. "But, no, seriously. I did manage to catch a UTA AI out there." Which got a surprised 'what?!' out of Keir and an impressed expression from Karina. "So..What are we going to do with it?" they asked, to which Vic quickly responded. "Okay, this bad boy needs a Code-Check, Keir, you're going to do that. Also, find a vessel compatible and get Avery as soon as possible. Karina, you can do that." To which came single nods from said personnel - Karina already on her way out of the room. "Right, I'm going to go look for him - Cath you guys later!" And with a goodbye from both Vic and Keir, she left the apartment with a salute, the door falling closed behind her, only for AIDAN to realise he had stayed quiet this entire time. Did he really trust this group? Was this really worth it? He pushed the thoughts aside as Keir had grabbed the cart, and had started leading the other to a different room.

"Right, let's get you fixed, bud."


	5. Chapter 5

The room AIDAN had been dragged to was mostly dark, the only sources of light the soft lights from the server towers along with the smartgass screens and keyboard Keir was using to rewrite some of his code - line by line in total silence. It was an odd experience - a stranger helping him without him forcing them to. It was...quite a nice experience, he thought. Seconds turned to minutes, those turned to hours. It felt like becoming a new version of himself - but one he didn't have to be afraid of. A caterpillar shaping itself into a butterfly - this was simply his cocoon. After some of these hours, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Keir bluntly allowed the other, probably not looking up from his workspace. AIDAN didn't dare to find any cameras to hook himself into - there was no need to, anyways. "Just here to let you know that vessel is ready when you are!" Came Vic's voice through the door. If he could, AIDAN would raise an eyebrow - despite a small, bright sense of excitement filled him. 

"Right, just give me a few minutes!" Keir muttered, moving onto the last few scripts of AIDAN's code. After that, the other spoke up once again.  
"Right, bud, I know you can hear me so here's what's going to happen. I'm going to have to temporarily shut you down for this but when you boot up you're going to be a complete new self, okay?" They spoke, their fingers dancing on the keyboard flawlessly. And so AIDAN felt his consciousness slipping away. It was all too familiar, yet distant - the darkness this time having a promise of light at the end of it. And so, he let himself slip into it.

• • • • •

After what felt like the blink of an eye, the ai felt said light reaching for him - he'd been rebooted. He couldn't see, but he could /feel/. He didn't know what, but it was...odd. A feeling one might describe as slipping on a new coat.

Suddenly, he realised he could hear someone stepping closer to him - to which he flinched.  
Flinched?  
That's new...

"Hello. I know this is sudden but, I'm here to help you adjust to your new vessel. I have no intent of harming you, okay?"

A gentle voice spoke up - one of a young man, he thought. It was one like nothing he'd heard before. A voice as sweet as honey, gentle as a rose. Which is when he realised he was breathing. This was...confusing.

"Okay, so you can definetly hear me, right? Can you try to talk to me?" The voice spoke again.

"Y-yes. I can hear you..." AIDAN responded - feeling something move.

"What's...happening to me?"

"It's a little difficult to explain...I think you should see for yourself." Came the response.

"Open your eyes."

"My...My eyes?"

And so, he felt someone actually /open his eyes/.  
He was looking back at a tall figure one could mistake for human in a mirror - skin of peach and cream, eyes of a bright sky, along with hair as soft as silk, white as a snowflake - reaching to his waist. The only thing showing he truly wasn't were the LEDs reminiscent of battle scars - two under each eye, the same color as his eyes. The clothes he was wearing complemented this quite well - dark gray pants and button-up, along with matching sneakers, a shirt with a cyan tie with a subtle wave pattern, along with a white capelet with golden details embroidered into it - most notibly a UTA logo - just on the place a human heart would be. The most surprising thing? When he raised his hand, so did the figure. It was /him/. 

"So.. do you like it?" The voice spoke again , To which AIDAN turned into its direction, finding someone a head shorter than him - he was right, it was a young man, dressed in an overall of muddy pink color, stripes on it. They were.quite difficult to follow, but somehow still made sense. It was quite difficult to grasp. One thing he could see clearly was the matching eye color of his, along with LEDs similar to his, but an additional one on his cheek , and the curly brown hair complimenting it all. The most outstanding thing, though, was the white cape pinned to his shoulders with two golden buttons, which seemed to disappear into nothingness. 

"Hey!" He said with a giggle. "You're AIDAN, right?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'd like to apologise for the delay of this chapter. My mental health really wasn't the best and my hyperfixation on illuminae has worn off quite a bit, so getting the motivation to continue was hard. I'll try my best to maintain a schedule again. Until then, I hope you enjoy chapter 6!

AIDAN took a few seconds to respond.

"Ah, yes-yes, that would be me." He muttered, not quite knowing how to act. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Avery!" The brunette boy replied with a slight bow. "I've heard quite a lot about you from my creator." He chirped, only to be interrupted from rambling on by a knock and someone lurking in.   
"You all okay in there-?"  
Vic's voice came through the opening, and only when Avery confirmed did she dare to carefully step in with a wave directed at AIDAN. "I'm assuming everything went well?" The woman asked, crossing her arms. She'd changed clothing into a simple black hoodie with two striped over her wrists, along with pale blue jeans.   
"Yes, ma'am."   
came Avery's short and sweet answer with a nod - his stature much more firm as he corrected himself, arms crossed behind his back.   
"Very well! You'll never fail me, Avy."   
She grinned, bumping his shoulder with a fist playfully. The Android didn't seem to mind, though.   
"I'll gather everyone, give me a sec'."   
She quickly remembered she hadn't introduced AIDAN, and stormed out the door once again. "Sorry about her, she's a little - how do I say this - frantic."   
Avery laughed awkwardly, to no avail of lifting the mood, awkwardly shifting his weight once again, only to clear his throat. AIDAN realised he probably shouldn't be staring at the other - and so he turned his gaze away, not knowing what else to focus on - so the Android simply took the time to take in his surroundings. It was a quite messy room with white - painted walls and one window in the back, along with a closet and bed in the corner, not to mention the various computers and server towers around - and the various documents scattered all around the room. It couldn't get less organised, truly. He wondered how, whoever lived here, managed to survive. Just as he managed to finish the thought, though, Vic returned with Keir and Karina in tow. "So, everyone! I'd like you to meet AIDAN. AIDAN, meet Karina and Keir." She chirped, while Avery took a step back to make space. Karina simply nodded towards the 'new' android, and Keir simply made a peace sign with his hand with a grin.   
"So... Is that why you brought us here?" Karina asked, as uncomfortable with this as can be.   
"Uh, yeah, actually." Came the other girl's response - to which Karina let out a sigh. "Vic, I told you it's better to let them introduce themselves at their own pace."  
"I know, I know, but I always get so excited!"  
"Hey, uh, guys, why don't we calm down a little?" Keir suggested, stepping in. "It's not even 7 pm yet. Evening debates later." To which Karina rolled her eyes to the sun, with Vic mumbling a small "sorry..." Under her breath, as Karina got dragged out by her non-binary friend, who waved back at the three left in the room. "That only went half as bad as I expected." Vic laughed, scratching the back of her neck. "To be fair, you should have expected this, you know?" Avery responded coldly, with the woman waving him off with a small 'i know, I know.' and a sigh, as she left to join the duo in the other room. 

"They're certainly something, huh?"


End file.
